


Birds of Day, Birds of Night

by NebulousMistress



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Cute, Gen, far too much research went into this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-23
Updated: 2013-04-23
Packaged: 2017-12-09 07:47:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/771779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NebulousMistress/pseuds/NebulousMistress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The birds of day hate and fear the half-dead. But the birds of night are more open-minded.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birds of Day, Birds of Night

There was just something about it. The feel of beating wings, tiny soft feathers brushing all around him. Scaly clawed feet gripping his fingers, sitting on his shoulders, grasping his hair as they sat on his head like he was some sort of prize to climb and claim. Tweeting little voices singing for him, piping chaotic little songs in their countless voices as they watched from afar, hopped nearby, perched on him, gorged themselves on the tiny seeds that he held cupped in his hands.

Vlad Masters grew up around birds. His mother had kept a cage full of canaries, a cage large enough for him to walk into and stand. It was his job to clean out their little nesting boxes, always giving them fresh dried grass to snuggle into. He took out the water bowls and handed them off to his mother so she could wash them and refill them. The first time he'd been sent in there he was a little afraid. After all, this was their place and they had shiny beaks and grasping little claws. His mother had warned him over and over not to spook the birds or they'd fly all around and hurt themselves. That first time he stood in the cage stock still while his mother took the bowls away and left him in there. 

It didn't take long for the birds to get curious about the little boy they always saw on the other side of the wires. They flew up to him and perched on him and nuzzled his warm skin and Vlad's fear had melted. He held out his hands and one brave little bird landed on them, letting itself be petted and touched by inquisitive little fingers.

Ever since then Vlad loved birds. When he was sent into the cages he'd take handfuls of birdseed and hold them out so the canaries perched on him could have something to eat. They flew all around him, pecked at his hair, snuggled in his neck, plopped themselves in the middle of his hands to send the seeds scattering all around in a shower of noise. 

Wild birds were always harder to tame. Sometimes the best he could do was climb a tree filled with a flock of sparrows and just lay on the lowest branch while the birds all sang to him. Sometimes one or two would fly down and peck at his hair, maybe even land on his finger. He always shared any food he had with the birds that came to him.

He knew he wanted to work with birds when he grew up.

And then Jack came up with his ghost idea.

College was so hard. He wasn't allowed to keep birds in the dorms. The best he could do was set up a small bird feeder outside his window and watch them. Even then when his neighbors complained to the RA he was forced to take it down.

Jack was always so loud. He adored the lunk, he was Vlad's best human friend, but he was physically incapable of being quiet. The wild birds all flew away when Jack came lumbering up. 

After college, then. Maybe with this ghost thing he wouldn't get a job with birds but after college he decided he was going to have a whole room full of birds. A walk-in cage with canaries and finches and maybe even cockatiels if he could get the canaries situated enough to leave the other birds alone.

And then the accident happened.

Jack abandoned him. Maddie left him and ran to his best friend's arms. His family thought he was dead. It was all so horrible. But he would recover. He'd be okay because he would always have the birds.

Until he got out of the hospital and he had the greatest heartbreak yet.

Birds adored him when he was alive. But they feared him now. Martins jeered at him, vultures circled above him, sparrows hid from him, parrots shrieked at him, hummingbirds dived at him. They shied away when he flew, shouted and fought to drive him back down to the ground, back where he belonged.

The birds of day hated and feared the half-dead.

But the birds of night were more... open-minded.

Vlad still remembered the first night they came to him. First there was a tiny peep, a song he'd never heard before. Then tiny claws and leathery wings and a fuzzy little face. The bat crawled under his shirt before he knew what was going on. Vlad looked at the shivering little lump. It reminded him so much of when the canaries would nuzzle under his hair and hide under the collar of his shirt. And then he knew why the bat was so scared when sharp claws alighted on his shoulder and a feathered wing cuffed him in the back of his head. Vlad turned to stare into a pair of yellow eyes. The owl looked right back at him, folded its wings, and settled comfortably on his shoulder. Vlad reached up and tentatively stroked soft feathers, an opportunity he'd thought he could never have again.

Since then he'd laughed with glee as spectral vultures wheeled their ruinous dance around him. He'd played tricks on hawks and eagles and the day itself with crows. He'd hidden in the attics of barns with owls curled up in his cape and owlets chirping for his soft, loving touch. 

Owls nuzzled him. Crows followed him. Ravens sang to him. Vultures danced with him. But the best of all were the bats.

*****

Vlad stood on the balcony as the sun sank below the horizon. He knew the bats would be waking up soon and that they'd be hungry. Soon the insectivores would be wheeling through the sky, diving at their invisible prey. Their songs were quiet, so hard to hear but beautiful nonetheless. Then the fruit bats would be out to forage the local orchards, seeking out fallen and rotten fruit. Their peeping songs would rise from the farms like so many ducklings. He had a basket of overripe peaches at his feet just for them.

“Hey fruitloop!”

And then there were the calls of the idiots. Vlad ignored it.

Danny Phantom did not take well to being ignored. He swooped up directly in front of Vlad and glared at the man. “Dreaming about Mom again, fruitloop?”

Vlad sighed. “You are your father's son,” he said, meaning it as an insult.

“What?”

“Daniel, shut up. You'll scare them away.”

“Them?” Danny looked around but didn't see anything. Nothing important, anyway. He gave Vlad a confused look before making a face and spinning his finger around his ear in a silent comment on Vlad's sanity.

Vlad picked a soft peach from the basket and took a bite. The peach burst, juice dripping down his chin. It was sweet, almost sickeningly sweet and just a little fermented. Perfect. He held out the peach in one hand and waited.

Danny just watched, both confused and amused. And then something brushed his hair. He shied away from the contact, almost falling out of the sky.

The flutter of wings rose out of the night. Vlad smiled as they swirled through the night, one by one landing all around him. Tiny claws gripped his fingers as fuzzy little faces buried themselves in overripe peach. Leathery wings brushed his hair as they landed on his shoulders to lean over and lap at the juice staining his goatee. As they snuggled into the collar of his shirt and under his ponytail. As one landed on his head and peeped lordship of his head to the others only to be knocked off by a bigger bat who then made the same claim. As bats gripped his fingers and dangled upside-down to catch the juice dripping from his hand.

Danny looked at Vlad like he was insane. Like only a madman would willingly let himself be swarmed by bats, smiling and even giggling as they crawled all over him.

Vlad looked at Danny right back, daring him with his eyes to say anything. “Aren't they cute?” he asked.

Danny's jaw hung open as he tried to come up with some sort of words to express how wrong he found the situation. In the end he simply shook his head and flew away.

In the distance Danny realized he was being followed by owls again. He still had no idea why.

*****

Inspired by [VD sketches by Aroshi Wish](http://fav.me/d57z2hi), specifically the cute widdle bats.


End file.
